Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,021 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,339 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.6% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,315,852.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total value of $459,405.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares in the company, valued at $19,197,043.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total value of $2,663,825.32. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 11,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,315,852.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 228,118 shares of company stock worth $121,237,935. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.4 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $591.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $558.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.42%.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.